Report: FBI launches Arlington probe

The FBI is launching a criminal investigation into the mishandling of remains at Arlington National Cemetery, including a probe into possible contract fraud, it was reported Wednesday.

A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., has been subpoenaing witnesses and documents related to mismanagement at the military burial site, reports The Washington Post, citing sources familiar to the investigation. The investigation is being conducted by the FBI and the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command, and has been under way for at least six months.

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In a report released a year ago, the Army’s inspector general noted serious problems with the management of the cemetery, including millions of dollars spent on technology contracts generated purposeless results and at least four cases in which cremated remains had been dug up and cast into a dirt pile.

The report led Arlington National Cemetery’s top officials, Superintendent John C. Metzler Jr. and Deputy Superintendent Thurman Higginbotham, to be forced out.

Despite a change in leadership, new problems have been discovered over the last year. In December, the cremated remains of eight individuals were found dumped into a single grave site. A spokesman for the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command said at the time that this was “not likely a mistake.”

The Justice Department’s inquiry into the matter joins several ongoing Congressional probes. The Congressional hearings have focused on how Metzler and Higginbotham were allowed to retire with full benefits.

In December 2010, Congress passed a law that required Arlington National Cemetery to verify that remains are properly accounted for at every one of its 330,000 graves.